Sand point



June 30, 1942. H. B. FAIRBANKS Filed Nov. 18, 1940 attornegS.

June 30, 1942. H. B. FAIRBANKS SAND POINT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Filed Nov.18, 1940 Fig.

Patented June 30, 1942 orrlce SAND POINT HarlanB. Fairbanks, Yakima,Wash.

Application November 18, 1940, Serial No. 366,171

' 7 Claims. (01. 37-58) The present invention relates to sand points orsuction nozzles which are particularly but not necessarily adapted forthe removal of mineral bearing deposits from basins or crevices inbedrock. In placer mining, it is customary to provide the end of thesuction line with a nozzle known as a sand or extraction point throughwhich the liquid and accompanying deposits may enter and be driven outthrough suitable piping for subsequent separation. Typical apparatus ofthis kind areshown in the Dailey et al. Patent No. 1,597,580 datedAugust 24, 1926, and in the Yedd Patent No. 2,028,580 dated January 21,1936.

Heretofore in the use of these nozzles, considerable difficulty has beenencountered due to the nozzle becoming clogged particularly where theoperations are taking place in deposits which contain considerableforeign material such as dirt, roots, grass, clays, etc. This cloggingof the nozzle not only materially limits the output but frequentlyrequires the suction line to be raised and the nozzle cleaned with theattendant loss of time. A further disadvantage has been the failure ofthe nozzle to work its way through the deposits when an obstruction wasencountered which tended to block the path of the nozzle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a suction nozzle whichwill be capable of being operated under the most adverse circumstanceswithout becoming clogged.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nozzle which will atall times tend to dig and work its way into the deposit and pass over oraround any obstructions which tend to block its path,

A further object of the invention is to provide a nozzle which willprevent the wedging of obstructions within the inlet openings.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a nozzle whichshould one or more of the openings become covered, the remainingopenings will be sufficient to take care of the requirements of thesuction line.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a nozzle orpoint which is of very strurdy construction, having a long lift and easyand inexpensive to manufacture and operate.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be morefully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed outin the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a side elevation of a nozzle or sand point embodying thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Figure1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 1and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view, parts being shown inelevation, of the nozzle tube blank during the process of constructionand showing the form when the slots have been cut therein.

'Figure 7 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing the tongues between theslots bent into their operative positions. j

Figure 9 is a view of the nozzle with the slot ribs in place thereon,and

Figure 10 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral ll designates apipe or tube which is to constitute the body of the nozzle or sandpoint, and which is threaded at its upper end to engage the pipe linefrom the pump, as is usual in this type of apparatus. In forming thenozzle, the pipe or tube I l is provided with four longitudinal slots I2extending from the lower end of the tube to a point adjacent but spacedfrom its upper end.

The slots [2 are considerably wider at their open lower ends than attheir upper ends. For example, in a tube having about a two inch insidediameter, the slots would taper from about one and one-quarter inches atthe lower end of the slot to about one-half inch at the upper end of theslot. It will be seen that cutting of the slots I2 produces fourlongitudinal tongues I3 which are widest at their upper ends andnarrowest at their lower ends, as seen in Figure 6. The next step inproducing the nozzle of this invention is to heat the upper portions oftongues 13 and draw them in at their lower ends to contract the slots attheir lowerends and thus form the slots of equal width throughout theirlength, as indicated in Figure 8. The slotted portion of the tube thusformed tapers from the top of the slots to the bottom of the tube.

The next step is to provide ribs M for the sides of slots [2. These ribsare formed from bars of steel bent into a U-shape and welded to thetongues [3 at the sides of slots i2 with the closed portion of the rib Ubeing disposed at the bottom of the tube. These ribs I4 extend outwardlyfrom the surface of the tongues and are tipped inwardly at their outerends to produce a slot at the outer edges of the rib which is narrowerthan the slot I2. The ribs I4 form a continuation of the sides of slotsI2 which converge outwardly and extend above the tops of the slots I2.

While the nozzle may be made in various sizes, using the size nozzlereferred to above and having an internal diameter of two inches, thefollowing dimensions may be taken as illustrative, although variationsmay be obviously made. The ribs I4 will have a width of about one-halfof an inch extending outwardly from the tube, a thickness of aboutone-quarter of an inch, and the ribs will be tipped inwardly towardseach other about oneeighth of an inch. With these dimensions the slot I2will be one-half of an inch wide and due to the ribs I4 will converge toa width of onequarter of an inch at the outer edges of the ribs. It willbe seen that the slot space between the ribs I4 is closed at its lowerend but open at its upper end and extends one-fourth inch beyond theupper end of slot I2 to permit particles which jam in the slot to worktheir way out of the open upper end as the nozzle is worked downwardlyin operation.

The ribs I4 are securely welded to the tube as illustrated in detail inFigure 5, while a hard pointed tip or point I5 is built onto the lowerend of the tube and securely welded to the lower ends of the tongues I3and to the lower ends of the ribs I4 and closing the bottom of the tube.

After being welded to the tube, the outer faces of the ribs I4 arerounded OE and tipped with a suitable hard substance such for example asStelite while the lower ends of the ribs are shaped to form pointed ribsI6 which are carried out to the tip of the point I5 and provide aribbed, penetrating point at the end of the tube. The point I5 may beformed of some suitable hard material such as Stelite.

The finished nozzle seen in Figure 1 will be seen to taper towards thepoint I5 and to have the hard tipped longitudinal ribs Id at the sidesof the slots I2, which assist in the drilling action of the nozzle as itis worked by an oscillating motion into the deposit, and loosenmaterials at the sides of the nozzle.

An important feature of this invention is that the slots will not becomeclogged and interfere with the suction within the tube. This is becausethe combined area of the slots is made considerably greater than thecross-sectional area of the top of the tube I I and the pipe or shaft towhich it is attached. In practice, the area of the slots should beapproximately three times that of the shaft.

In operation, the nozzle is connected to a suitable pump to create asuction in the nozzle. The nozzle is worked down by the operator in atwisting and oscillating manner in which the point I5 and tipped ribs 14assist in loosening the material of the deposit. Small particles of thedeposit loosened by this action are sucked through the slots and upthrough the nozzle for separation. Removal of these particles assist inthe further penetration of the point. The downward movement of thenozzle will move any particle jammed between the ribs I4 out through theopen upper end thereof, while any particles which pass the outer edgesor lips of the ribs I4 will pass readily into the tube due to the inwardflaring of the slots formed by the sides of the ribs.

Accordingly it will be seen that the present nozzle may be readily usedfor removing deposits without the usual difliculties encountered due toclogging of the nozzle slots and subsequent interference wtih thesuction lift within the nozzle.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims:

What is claimed is:

l. A suction nozzle of the character described comprising a tube havingelongated longitudinal slots therein, longitudinal ribs disposed at eachside of each slot and projecting outwardly beyond said tube to formcontinuations of the side walls of the slots, a point secured to the endof the tube, the ribs of each slot being connected at the leading orlower end of each slot and extending beyond the other trailing or upperend of the slot to provide an opening through which particles jammedbetween the ribs may work out and escape from the ribs and slot.

2. A suction nozzle of the character described comprising a tube havingelongated longitudinal slots therein, longitudinal ribs disposed at eachside of each slot and projecting outwardly beyond said tube to formcontinuations of the side walls of the slots, a point secured to the endof the tube, the ribs of each slot being connected at the leading end ofeach slot and extending beyond the other end of the slot to provide anopening through which particles jammed between the ribs may work out andescape from the ribs and slot, said ribs converging outwardly to producean opening therebetween which flares inwardly to the interior of thetube.

3. An extracting device for hydraulic mining comprising a hollow bodyportion having a pointed end, said body portion having a series of inletopenings communicating with the interior of the body portion, meansdisposed at each side of each opening and projecting outwardly beyondsaid body portion to form continuations of the side walls of theopenings, said means of each opening being connected at the leading endof each opening and extending beyond the other end of the opening toprovide an opening through which particles jammed between said means maywork out and escape from said means and open- 4. A device of thecharacter described comprising a hollow body portion having inletopenings in the surface thereof communicating with the interior of thebody member, means disposed at each side of each opening and projectingoutwardly beyond the body portion to formcontinuations of the side wallsof the openings, said means of each opening being connected at theleading end of each opening and extending beyond the other end of theopening to provide an outlet through which particles jammed between saidmeans may work out and escape from. said means and opening, said meansconverging out-' wardly to produce an opening therebetween which flaresinwardly to the interior of the tube.

5. A suction nozzle of the character described comprising a tube havingan elongated longitudinal slot therein, a longitudinal rib disposed ateach side of the slot and projecting outwardly beyond said tube to forma continuation of the side wall of the slot, a point carried by the leading end of the tube, the ribs of the slot extending beyond the trailingend of the slot to provide an opening through which particles jammedbetween the ribs may work out and escape from the ribs and slot.

6. A suction nozzle of the character described comprising a tube havingan elongated longitudinal slot therein, a longitudinal rib disposed ateach side of the slot and projecting outwardly beyond said tube to forma, continuation of the side wall of the slot, the ribs of the slot beingconnected at the leading end of the slot and extending beyond thetrailing end of the slot to provide an opening through which particlesjammed between the ribs may work out and escape from the ribs and slot.

'7. A suction nozzle of the character described comprising a tube havingan elongated longitudinal slot therein, a longitudinal rib disposed ateach side of the slot and projecting outwardly beyond said tube to formcontinuations of the side walls of the slot, and a point disposed at theleading end of the tube, the side walls of the slot and the inner wallsof the ribs converging outwardly to produce slot openings which flarein- 10 Wardly to the interior of the tube.

HARLAN B. FAIRBANKS.

